swissquilter

I don`t really want to stay at Ruby`s and have found some other options. Has anyone stayed at Bryce Country Cabins? Bryce View Lodge across from Ruby`s? Or the Bryce Canyon Inn - this one says it`s located in the "bottom" of Bryce Canyon on Hwy 12 but is 2 miles from park entrace. So I guess we could go into Tropic/Ruby`s to eat?

Patrick

Let me get this straight. You don't want to stay at Ruby's, but you're willing to go eat there? Somehow that seems quite backwards to me. I found the restaurants and huge store at Ruby's to be the tackiest thing about the whole place. The motel rooms were actually quite large, clean, and nice.

placeu2

Go for the Lodge in Bryce. Can't be beat.

Tricia

swissquilter: I agree w/placeu2. Your first choice should definitely be staying right inside Bryce at their lodge.
That said, my family stayed at Ruby's and it was fine. The rooms were large, clean & accomodating. Dinner in the dining room @Ruby's was good family fare, nothing spectacular, but decent. Enjoy Bryce Canyon, you'll love it.

bigtyke

I would try to stay in the park if yopu can. We couldn't and stayed in Tropic and really liked it. It's more than 2 miles from the park entrance - maybe 12 miles. Stayed at a cabin at the Bryce Canyon Inn. Was fine.

Patrick

I'll move backwards on this thread and also suggest you stay in the park at one of the cabins (there are only three or four rooms in the actual lodge -- and the cabins are far neater). I only made my other comments because I ASSUMED you couldn't get into the park lodging. If you can -- there's no option -- DO IT!

gail

Wherever you stay, there is a restaurant in Tropic called the Hoodoo Restaurant. It is in a building that is a combination real general store, candy shop, gas station, etc. and has surprisingly decent local food. Son had some sort of BBQ thing, daughter a really good salad and husband and I local trout. Best part was talking to local people who worked there. We stayed at Ruby's and quickly grew tired of the food - however, Ruby's is amazingly convenient, NPS bus stops right at door. Also ate a lunch at Lodge restaurant in the park - reasonably good food.

audra

Absolutely try to stay in the park. The motel-style rooms were quite nice actually, and ours had a balcony we used for our morning coffee. The food is excellent in the lodge, especially breakfast.

However, we also stayed at Ruby's one year and found it to be just fine. The rooms, as noted by others, are very clean and quite large.

They also have many amenities that we appreciated after many days of hiking and nature overdose (DD's description) including an Olympic-sized indoor pool, hot tub, exercise, laundry facilites, in addition to a photo shop on site, that developed / made prints of both our point-and-shoot and digital pictures.

The food at Ruby's however, was deplorable! IMO. A dinner buffet was very expensive for what was served, and the ambiance was -- well, there was NO ambiance. Crowded, smokey, gross. We opted for the fast-food cafe next door (also part of Ruby's) for chicken fingers, salads, burgers etc. which was surprising clean and GOOD.

BTW, Bryce View Lodge across the street is also part of Ruby's. Its behind the little shops and horse stables that are ALSO part of Ruby's.

There may be definite benefits to staying at Ruby's; its just a matter of personal choice.

dixon

I got some bad news for those of you who want to stay at the accommodations within the park itself: The cabin rooms are virtually sold out for May through September. Motel rooms are available, but even there the place is filling up rather quickly considering that we are in early February.

So if you want to stay inside the park, it looks to me like you take what you can find.

A good alternative is Bryce Canyon Pines resort. It has a variety of accommodations.

swissquilter

Thanks to everyone who has given me tips so far. Several of you recommended staying in the park, which I immediately checked on but unforturnately they are all booked out for our dates. I enjoy reading everyone`s comments but I must say I come away sometimes more confused!!!! Not just on this chat but on lots of others - there seem to be good and bad reviews of the same property - I have yet to see anything reviewed consistently. I guess in the end you end up making your own decision and hope for the best!

placeu2

swiss

I booked a cabin at Bryce last summer one month in advance for a stay in late July. Couple of hints: First: Book something else as a back up plan. Do not use the website to search for availability. Call the toll free number instead. Call back regularily, once a week at this time is not too much, they will have cancellations. As summer gets closer, call more often.

The above worked for me. I got my prefered dates on the second or third call. I had booked Rubys as well and just cancelled it. We did stop there for lunch an it just wasn't my kind of place.

I believe you are going to get conflicting opinions on all this type of stuff. Some people need spas, first class service, etc. Some (like me) don't care about TV's or phones in my room in locations like Bryce. To each their own!

gail

To original poster - the reason you get mixed reviews of the same property is that everyone has different preferences, tolerances, etc.

I will try to give you an objective summary of Ruby's. Perhaps others can do same for other properties.

Ruby's is a very large, sprawling multi-building motel just outside entrance to Park. Buildings are 2 stories, with standard motel-type rooms but on the large size. Parking is plentiful and usually right outside your unit. There are usually bus tours also staying at the property. In addition to the lodging buildings there is a large gift shop that sells other essentials - snacks, sodas, some food, film, etc. Other services include one-hour photo, booking for horseback riding tours. There is a pool, hot-tub, laundramat. In-season, the National Park Service sells passes at a mini-office and one can pick up a bus that does a Bryce loop right outside the front door. In addition, there is a large restaurant with generic American food (burgers, steaks, salads, pasta, etc.) of average quality. Even with the large number of motel rooms, there is rarely a significant wait.

Hopefully, this description will give you some info to add to your decision-making process. We did a 10-day tour of National Parks in southern Utah and Arizona last summer (couple with 2 teenagers) and chose to stay in a mix of Park Service lodging and hotel/motels. For us it worked to, for example, stay in more rustic setting of Grand Canyon Bright Angel cabin and then stay in a motel with pool, place to do laundry, etc.

Try not to sweat the decision too much. Bryce is incredible - you will only be sleeping in the room anyway and all of your options are fine enough to not ruin your trip. Each has its pros and cons. Have a good trip.

bigtyke

We also ate at Hoodoo's in Tropic and lilked it. Breakfast at the Bryce Canyon Inn was also good. Had a lunch at Ruby's - everything looked overpriced

swissquilter

Question for bigtyke: You mentioned on another post staying in the Byce Canyon Inn in Tropic in one of the cabins. I have tried to find a picture of this place - I like to see a place before I book it - but all I find are pics of the rooms. What is this place like? A nice lodge with the 12 rooms and then the 10 cabins out around the lodge? Is it IN Tropic itself? Does it sit right at the road? I think I want to stay here but need more info. Would be a fun option instead of staying, again, in a normal hotel room. Please answer!!! Thanks.

Clousie

We stayed at Doug's Country Place in Tropic. Nothing fancy, but a large clean room away from the crowds at Ruby's, which I deplore. However, I wouldn't recommend the attached restaurant.

As has been mentioned, the park is the main attraction, and you probably wouldn't be in your room much so don't over obcess about it.

amyx

Sorry I can't give you advice as to where to stay besides Ruby's, but you are very lucky that you decided not to stay there. Ruby's was the most horrible hotel experience that we have ever had! Smelly and old room, rude staff (not to us but to another couple), and extremely tasteless food at an outrageous price.

We had lunch at the Bryce lodge and it was heaven compared to Ruby's. Stay away from Ruby's by all means!

MileKing

I last stayed at Ruby's some years ago and it was OK. It's nothing special (very plain actually), but by no means a horrible experience. Rooms are enormous compared to most other hotels, but most of the space is just that...space. It is a 2-star property, no more, no less.

The restaurant at Ruby's, from what I can recall, was packed. Hour+ waits for dinner sometimes. And the food was not so good. We did dinner one night at some diner attached to a small motel down the road (can't recall the name), but it was good.

bigtyke

Bryce Canyon Inn is right in Tropic - a very small town - almost everything is on the main road. Not a busy road so that is no problem with noise.

They are new cabins - less than 5 years old. Big enough for two double(or queen - i'm not sure) beds, TV, table, bathroom. Nothing fancy, but were certainly ok for us.

The cabins basically sit in the gravelled parking area next to the Inn in two rows (there was only one row of 6 when we were there).

Even if you don't stay there, be sure to hike to Mossy Cave which is accessed from a trialhead on the road between Bryce and Tropic. Short, extremely scenic hike.

ellen_griswold

We;ve stayed in both in the park at bryce lodge and ruby's. Try to stay in the park - the lodge is one of the nicer nat'l park accomodations we've experienced, as was the restaurant.

Ruby's is not 'horrible' - its a built up best western with lots of extra commercializaion. Nice, large indoor pool. Food sucked, tho. Bryce View Lodge is part of ruby's, an add-on, just a plain strip motel.

The idea tho, is to stay close enough to the park for easy access, if you can't stay IN the park. After all, how much time will you really be spending in the room?

Have fun - bryce rocks!

bookhall

We stayed at Ruby's Inn about 15 months ago. Rooms were fine--food was tolerable.

It was our first trip to the Utah canyon country. And one thing a first-timer should realize, is that when you're near Bryce, there are not a lot of choices. I notice that Bryce Canyon Inn (which would be about 10 miles away,) has about 20 rooms. I suspect that in the summer, there is a lot of pressure on lodging and food facilities in the whole region. If I were going in the summer, I'd book somewhere NOW!